1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electricity generators and particularly to fluid-driven electricity generators.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of conduits to carry fluids therethrough is well known in the art. For example, water hoses can be connected to a faucet on the outside of a house, the faucet having a traditional manual spigot or valve for turning the water flow on and off. A user can thus selectively allow pressurized water pumped from a well or supplied by a municipal water company to flow through the hose.
However, because hoses often extend many yards from the faucet, it is inconvenient for a user to have to return to the faucet to turn the water flow on and off. Manual devices, such as spray guns, are widely used to regulate water flow at the distal end of the hose so that the flow can be turned off and on without repeatedly returning to the faucet. However, it is undesirable to leave water turned on at the source when the hose is no longer in use for a number of reasons. Continual water pressure along the length of the hose tends to form leakage paths at joints between multiple lengths of hose, at the joint between the nozzle and the nozzle attachment, and at the joint between the hose and the faucet.
Electrical devices have also been developed to regulate water flow in hoses. For example, an electrically controllable valve responsive to remote control can be placed between the faucet and the hose. A remote control can then be operated to actuate the valve. A detailed description of such a remote control can be found in U.S. Provisional Application 60/455,229, filed Mar. 13, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Generators have been proposed for generating electricity from a flow of water in a conduit such as a hose or pipe. Various reeling mechanisms for reels not connected to a residential power grid are also known in the art. However, these mechanisms do not offer satisfactory means for powering the reeling of a hose. For example, these mechanisms either necessitate that the entire reel be in motion (e.g., a wheeled reel pulled behind a tractor) or that the water pressure be maintained at high levels at all times during which an operator could desire to spool or unspool the hose from/onto the reel drum. Accordingly, these prior art reeling mechanisms do not allow the reeling of a hose to be powered in situations where is it desirable for the entire reel to be stationary or where constant high water pressure is undesirable in the hose.